Instructor & Program Development Lead, Certificate in Canadian Law Studies

Department/Unit

Law - Dean's Office

Location

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

About the opportunity

The Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, invites applications from qualified candidates for a limited-term appointment for ten months at the rank of Instructor, expected to commence by October 1, 2026. This position will lead the development of a new Certificate in Canadian Law Studies for Internationally Trained Lawyers.

This certificate program will support foreign-trained lawyers seeking Canadian legal licensing and will be designed to respond to the legal, professional, and regulatory context of Nova Scotia and Canada, including meaningful engagement with Indigenous law, professional responsibility, and access to justice.

This term position is supported through approved one-time project funding for the development of a certificate program intended to increase access for internationally trained legal professionals, generate new revenue opportunities for the law school, and enhance the regional legal workforce.

The key responsibilities of the Instructor and Program Development Lead include:

• Academic and project leadership for the design and development of the certificate in Canadian Law Studies for Internationally Trained Lawyers, ensuring the curriculum reflects the needs of internationally trained lawyers pursuing Canadian licensing pathways.
• Consultation with internal and external stakeholders to ensure the certificate program is academically rigorous, professionally relevant, and responsive to the needs of internationally trained lawyers.
• Contributing to project reporting and evaluation.
• Teaching one or more courses, workshops, bridge modules, or professional development offerings, depending on the candidate’s expertise and program requirements.

The successful candidate will hold a or equivalent degree in law, in addition to the following qualifications:

• Demonstrated knowledge of Canadian legal education, or legal professional regulation.
• Strong understanding of the Canadian legal system and legal profession.
• Demonstrated ability to design curriculum, courses, professional education, or legal training programs.
• Experience teaching, training, mentoring, or supporting adult learners, law students, legal professionals, or internationally educated professionals.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Strong project management, organizational, and consultation skills.
• Demonstrated commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility, and culturally responsive education.

The following qualifications will be considered an asset:

• Membership, or eligibility for membership, in a Canadian law society.
• Experience with the National Committee on Accreditation process, bar admission programs, or professional bridging programs.
• Experience working with internationally trained lawyers or internationally educated professionals.
• Expertise in one or more of the following areas: Canadian public law, legal research and writing, access to justice, or immigration and professional integration.
• Experience developing certificate, executive education, continuing professional development, or competency-based programs.
• Knowledge of trauma-informed, anti-racist, decolonial, or intercultural approaches to legal education.

About the Schulich School of Law and Dalhousie University

The Schulich School of Law plays an extraordinary role in the fabric of Canadian legal education. We are a national law school, with our students coming from and returning to every region. We are a vibrant, collegial, and close-knit community of faculty and students from around the world. We live the Weldon Tradition of unselfish public service – of giving back and making the world a better place. Our alumni hold every form of government office, teach in Canadian law schools, innovate in the provision of private and public sector legal services and in business, advance policy in the executive branch of government, render decisions of courts across the country, and offer service to non-governmental bodies and non-profit and community organizations.

We embrace the interdisciplinary opportunity of working in a university, we value the creation and dissemination of new knowledge, and we are firmly committed to students and to teaching and learning excellence. We are conscious of the difference we make to law reform, adjudication, legal service, and community engagement at home and around the world. We value the contributions of the founding communities in this province, the Mi’kmaq Nation, Acadians, African Nova Scotians, and British, and we open our doors to the world.